Sen. Marco Rubio sounds ready to scuttle his version of a pro-immigrant DREAM Act this year, and hes blaming President Obama.

For the past three months, Rubio has been trying to craft a bill that would give legal residency to young immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally by their parents.

But on Friday, Obama essentially turned Rubios undrafted proposal into an executive rule made by his administration. Rubio and other Republicans say Obama overstepped his bounds.

When the president ignores the Congress, ignores the Constitution and forces a policy like this down the throat of the American people, its going to make it harder to have a conversation like that, Rubio said. Its going to make it harder to elevate the debate.

Obamas campaign refused to comment, though Democrats buzzed on Twitter that Rubio was scapegoating the president, whose administration denies that hes making law with an executive rule. They say the president, urged to act by immigration advocates, had no choice in the face of a do-nothing Congress.

And its not like Congress hasnt acted: The legislation passed the House and has majority support of 55 members in the U.S. Senate  but failed to pass because of a Republican filibuster.

Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said the order to stop deporting these young people was a case of prosecutorial discretion  not legislating by the executive branch of government.

It is an exercise of discretion, she said Friday. Our nations immigration laws must be enforced in a strong, accessible manner.

Rubios nascent proposal and the presidents executive decision differ from the Dream Act in that they do not create a special pathway to citizenship  which critics like Rubio view as amnesty  for those who are illegally in the country. Obamas rule expires in two years.

Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, whos considering Rubio for a vice-presidential slot, has said hed veto the DREAM Act. But he hasnt said what hed do about Obamas executive rule, which he called an election-year play for Hispanic votes.

Rubio said the presidents actions will make it tougher to win support from Republicans and critics.

Its going to be hard to deliver this in an election year. The president just made it harder, Rubio said.

I didnt want this to be a divisive thing. I didnt want to intro a bill that immediately led to all of the squabbling that has invariably doomed efforts at reform in the past, he said. And to do that, you have to sit down with all of the stakeholders.

Frank Sharry, an immigrant-rights advocate with the Washington group Americas Voice, said he understood why Rubio would step back.

Rubios brilliant move was to present a Republican alternative to the DREAM Act that would reposition his party on the issue. And that was trumped by an even-more brilliant move by the president, Sharry said. It makes sense for Rubio to step back. Now, instead of being a knight in shining armor, hed look like a rubber stamp for the president.

Rubio said he wasnt ready to kill his plan entirely just yet. But he acknowledged struggling to find common ground between liberals and conservatives.

Some on the right have too much of a deport-them-first view when it comes to immigration, while those on the left portray any opponent of their plans as being anti-immigrant, Rubio said.

What troubles me about this debate is there doesnt seem to be room to reconcile these two positions, Rubio said. Thats what Im trying to arrive at. Thats what Im trying to find room for.

Rubio made the comments while discussing his new autobiography, An American Son, in which he laments the difficulties in navigating the two worlds he inhabits as a conservative Republican and as the son of immigrants who lives in an immigrant community, Miami.

Writing a book about your life is one thing, authoring a proposal on a public policy that could impact 800,000 people is a different endeavor, he said. Its not like ordering a Big Mac at McDonalds. Theres a lot of complexity.

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